Duck1981

Hi All

My travel company has just booked me on Delta from LAX to LHR via SLC. I have seen that the flight arrives at 815pm and my departure will be at 9pm.

Being a very unregular Delta flyer and never been to SLC I must say that sounds really tight but I assume that is technically within the min connection time. I am wondering if you believe this connection is possible in practical terms?

I assume if the inbound is late Delta would re-accommodate me in case my inbound is late (incl. hotel)?

Cheers
Daniel

ATOBTTR

It is above MCT (Minimum Connection Time) but Minimum Connection Time does not always equal "Sensible Connection Time". 45 minutes will be pretty tight but if you depart LAX on time, still doable though you won't have time to do much else in SLC beyond get off the flight from LAX and head to the gate and board for LHR. Of note, DL is known for padding its schedules a bit so if you depart LAX on-time, there's a good chance you could arrive at SLC a little earlier, giving you a little bit more buffer. Even if you depart a few minutes late, you may still arrive on-time. I personally wouldn't book it but everyone on FT has their own individual standards of what sort of personal minimum layover time they are willing to accept and some are less conservative in their approach then others.

If there are IROPS in LAX, you can look to get rebooked in LAX before even departing LAX. This is where "knowledge is power" and it can help to know possible alternate routings in advance rather than just accepting whatever you get auto-rebooked to, if you do get rebooked. DL is partners with Virgin Atlantic (VS), which operates LAX-LHR nonstop. You could ask to be rebooked into a VS flight direct to LHR. Other options include routing via SEA or even possibly via SFO if the last SEA/SFO-LHR flights on DL/VS haven't left before you could get there. VS also serves LAS so a rebooking for LAX-LAS-LHR could be an option too. Other options include routing on Air France (AF) or KLM (KL) via CDG or AMS, respectively and then catching a short hop to LHR.

To answer your last question about if the LAX-SLC flight is late, will DL re-accommodate you? Well, they will re-accommodate you on a new flight to get you to LHR but whether that will be the same day will depend on what options are available and whether they will provide a hotel will depend on the cause of the delay. If it's weather related or anything "beyond DL's control", then they aren't required to reimburse for an overnight hotel stay. If it's a mechanical delay, they theoretically should give you a hotel voucher but exactly what hotel that will be for is unknown and it may not be a hotel you want to stay at. If traveling for work though, hopefully your work would pick-up the hotel cost regardless.

Duck1981

Excellent reply - thank you!

CPMaverick

Good info above. Because there are alternative LAX-LHR direct flights, this isn't as risky as most connections. Any small delay I'd be on the app seeing if it will offer me an alternative flight. The biggest risk is if you board the LAX-SLC flight and then there is some delay (but the door never opens). Because in SLC there are fewer options to LHR.

flyerCO

Worst case flight to JFK and catch morning JFK-LHR flight, still get in same day, just evening time. I would look to do LAX-JFK though if in business.

adhiren

Delta tends to be proactive at rebooking you automatically if there is an issue. I was going EWR-BOS-LHR and less than an hour before my EWR-BOS segment was supposed to leave they announced a delay due to weather. Within a few minutes, the Delta app sent me a notification to say I was rebooked on a different airline (British Airways) on a direct flight leaving in like 4 hrs. I did check with a Delta rep and she did confirm that was indeed true and called down to the baggage people to make sure my luggage was transferred to BA. So no issues whatsoever and at the BA ticket counter (Delta uses a different concourse) they just gave me a boarding pass so I could get through security but all good

You should be fine as both LAX and SLC there are multiple flights to London particularly in LAX with joint venture partner Virgin having more flights to the UK than any other airline from LAX. Failing that, as in my case, you will just be rebooked on another carrier

Do download the Delta app for your phone as its very good and its keep u updated every step of your trip

lindros2

Did anyone ask if OP is checking bags?
SLC is a big place, although new terminal (small
and large jets closer; better baggage system) should help.

for carry-on, you run the (slighter since TATL) risk that there’s no room when you board. Aircraft will dictate your risk level - ie A330 vs A350 vs …

Duck1981

Thank you for all your replies - Delta app on my phone and set up

WillBarrett_68

Yes, it's possible. It is in Delta's interests to only sell itineraries that are not only possible to make, but are extremely likely to be successful. All of the exception handling invovled in rebooking you etc is expensive.

dfwams

Is 45 min for a DL to KLM connection technically legal at SLC (I know that it would be all on DL metal). Got a flight schedule change and not sure whether that is still valid (last flight of the day, so don't want issues at checkin)

ATOBTTR

Minimum Connection Transfer Time at Salt Lake City (SLC): The Definitive Thread
This thread notes the MCT is 30 min for D to I at SLC.

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Aliquot

Airline MCT's are generally reliable, but of course they assume an onlime arrival. I have never missed a connection when the actual arrival time puts the connection within MCT. No "running" required. I have however missed connections from flights that were only 5 minutes late.

The shorter the connection the higher the probability of a missed connection, but that should be balanced with the wasted time of a lifetime of needlesneedlessly padded connections. Alternatives if the connection is missed and the importance of arriving on time need to be considered, but I am generally happy to book the shortest legal connection available.

One thing to watch out for is codeshares being ignored in uncommon transit airports. For example, I once had trouble with a BA to AA connection in SJC. BA-AA connections have an MCT longer than the airport default, but if you book the BA flight with an AY code the default shorter MCT is used, potentially resulting in a misconnection.

ConnieDee

Yes, knowledge is power. One thing I take into account (after doing some of the analysis like ATOBTTR but not as expertly) is how anxious I will be about it all. If I have travel delay insurance / can cancel the first London hotel night / won't feel bad about missing a day of vacation / etc. then the anxiety won't be too bad and I can go with the flow.

Once upon a time, a tight international connection at ATL, at least to my mind, led to my leaving my black, invisible purse under the seat when we de-boarded the plane. A gate attendant actually went against the flow of the departing passengers and got it for me. So anxiety can make things worse if you're not careful.